Asia stocks rallied on Wednesday after a resurgence in AI enthusiasm ahead of earnings from industry bellwethers later in the US day, while the dollar was perky ahead of a Federal Reserve policy decision.

The AI rally faces its next test when technology giants Alphabet and Microsoft report earnings after market close, with investors looking for evidence of returns that would justify the hefty price of AI build-out.

Ahead of US earnings, MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was up 0.85 percent in early Asia trade, with Japan's Nikkei adding 1.2 percent and South Korea's Kospi jumping more than three percent.

The Hang Seng Index was slightly lower in mid-morning trade, down 0.02 percent, at 23,036. (Reuters)


Edited by Aaron Tam